Be it ever so humble...

We arrived home safe and sound guided by a full moon.  The flight from London to Boston was smooth and we even managed to get some shuteye - I wouldn't go so far as to call it sleep.  The plane landed a half hour early.  We breezed through customs with our new Global Entry pass, and our driver was waiting for us when we wheeled our duffels outside.  No traffic, in the house by midnight. What a joy to sleep in our own bed.  Up early this morning - still on African time.

As I have expressed several times during this journey, it was simply amazing.  From the cities to the bush, from the homes to the resorts, from the ocean to the mountains, we saw and did so much.  You never know what will happen when you start these trips.  Guide books can only go so far but it is really the people that you meet along the way that enhance the experience.

That being said, we would really like to thank all of our ATC hosts who treated us with loving care.  It was like leaving family every time we drove away.  Another big thank you goes out to Elmor and his crew at GO SELFDRIVE TOURS who helped us before and during our trip to make everything smooth and insure that we had a good time.  Even during the bumpy times, of which there weren't many, they were there to listen and help.  Our total gratitude to our guides and drivers who could not have been more helpful in their wish to please their clients. It is because of them that we were able to experience the amazing wildlife of nature.  Thanks again and again to Diane and Tim for keeping the roof on the house.  And, of course, thank you to all of our family and friends who travel with us.  Your comments both on the blog and the pictures are such a joy to read when we are so far away.

This is beginning to sound like an acceptance speech but I've got one more.  A great big thanks to my brother, Jerry, for picking up the phone every Monday morning so I could hear his voice.  And 

speaking of Jerry, it is wash time!  

Till next time....

We're Going Home..

There was no fancy African cocktail last night.  Apparently the continent doesn't have a blender.  They do like their milkshakes, however.  We had been meaning to try one and just never got around to it. Maybe next time.

When traveling on a long trip, it seems endless.  You are on the go so much and then one day you are sitting in an airplane on the way home and thinking - did we really do and see all that?  I suppose we did.  Another really great experience.  No real injuries - not even one mosquito bite between the two of us - of course, I might get DEET poisoning, but at least it won't itch.

We woke up really early today - always anxious going home.  Checked out and grabbed our to go
breakfast, which we really didn't need since the British Airways lounge was open.  We had to ditch it anyway since they put ham inside when we specifically said "no meat".  Hung out in the lounge for a bit and headed to the plane.

Sitting on the plane now drinking champagne waiting for take-off.  Next stop - London.

Landed safely - one more flight to go.  We are at the Heathrow lounge with about an hour to kill before we board.  The skies are grey and the temperature is definitely cooler. 

Be home at around midnight. 

Next time... Be it ever so humble..

The Journey Home

CLICK HERE:  TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM 

We start the long trek home today.  Thankfully no 5 am alarm this morning.  We were able to sleep a bit later.  Our driver wasn't coming till 8:30.  We grabbed a quick breakfast, did our last minute packing, and met the jeep at reception.  Retraced out way back to the Botswana border crossing, got our passports stamped and the onto the ferry crossing and there was no ferry.  Actually there was, but he took off as soon as he saw us.  I asked Lance, the driver, why didn't that guy take us across - "Oh, he's with another company".  I wasn't really buying that considering he is the only game in town, or rather, on the water.  Lance made a phone call or two and guess what, here comes Mr. Ferry Guy again. The same guy that took us across four days ago and said we weren't on his list.  Guess he really loves screwing with the tourists.  Finally boarded the boat, said goodbye to Lance and said hello again to Clive who was waiting on the other side.

While driving to the Zambia border crossing, Clive happens to mention that our univisa does not cover our re-entry into Zambia.  It was going to cost us another $100 to get back into the country. This is the first we had heard of this fee.  Nowhere in all the literature we received does it say we have to pay another $100 to get back into Zambia.  In fact, it was made very explicit that we make sure we get a univisa that covers Zambia, Zimbabwe, and we thought, Botswana.  Clive said the problem was that we stayed overnight.  If you just go over for a day, you don't have to pay.  The univisa cost us $100.  We paid the fee and as soon as I could, I emailed Elmor and explained the situation.  Clive says it is all part of the African experience - thanks a lot!


The drive to the airport took about an hour. Clive went through his neighborhood and showed us where he lives and where his son goes to school.  Of course, we arrived here early and we are now sitting with a cup of coffee waiting to board.  This flight is only about an hour and a half - should be in Jo'berg by around 3.  Hope there's time for a dip in the pool.

It was a pretty smooth flight to Jo'berg.  We flew over the Falls and I couldn't resist getting a few more shots.  It is something to see. Landed on time, went through customs, and we were able to walk straight through to the hotel. Checked in but the room was like a sauna with the sun pouring in.  We were told they could change it a bit later.  So we got our suits out and hung by the pool. The water was ice cold but felt very refreshing.  After a while we went back to the desk and they gave us a new room on the shady side.  Quite comfortable with all the usual fixings.  I have to say this place is better than I expected for an airport hotel.

We will eat at the hotel tonight.  Maybe I'll get my African cocktail as a farewell to Africa.  Up early for a 7:40 flight back to London and then on to Boston.  Should get in the house somewhere around midnight if we are lucky.  Big thanks to Diane and Tim, our friends who watch our house every year. The heat is back on and there's milk in fridge!

CLICK HERE:  TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM 


Next time... Home, Sweet, Home

The Last Hurrah!

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM

We were up at 5 am for our eleventh and last game drive.  I can't say how many jeeps were out front but there was definitely enough for a parade.  This morning's guide was Gee.  He was very good but tended to speak in the third person - which kinda cracks me up.

We had a very special sighting of two hyenas.  They are very rare to see during the day since they are usually nocturnal animals.  Gee spotted them from far off and raced like the wind to get to them in time before they scattered off into the bush.  Then, of course, there was the usual hanging around - elephants, hippos, giraffes, etc.  Spotted a very cute owl in a tree when we stopped for a coffee break.  There was a rumor that a leopard was seen crossing a road - off we all went barreling through the bush but to no avail.  If the leopard was there, he was either hiding or had left.

We were on our way back to the lodge, when we ran into African gridlock.  Lions.  All the jeeps were huddled around this one pride.  Looked like mostly females lying very close by the buffalo herd.  We counted six.  We observed them for a while and then we had to get back, the Aussies needed to catch their plan to Jo'berg.  That will be us tomorrow morning.  We won't be going on the morning game drive however.  I think we have reached our limit.

Back at the lodge, we had enough time to eat breakfast and change for the next activity - our private boat tour.  Met up with Mike around 11 and boarded a smaller but similar boat to the one we took the first afternoon.  By this time, we really knew the lay of  land and all the stories.  It was getting hot. and we didn't really expect to see anything we hadn't already.

I wanted to see a croc in the water and we did see quite a few of them.  I was only able to get pictures of two.  They go under pretty quick when they want.  Mike also spotted a monitor - another reptile creature that eats crocodile eggs.  The crocodile, in turn, will eat the monitor!  And, of course, the elephants.  I promised I would take no more pictures of these guys. But, honestly, you really can't help yourself.

One new species for us was the red lechwe, another antelope.  This one is aquatic and swims out to the island to feed and is safe from the big cats.  When the island gets flooded it has to swim back to the mainland.  If he makes it past the crocs, he has the lions and leopards to contend with.

We stayed out for two hours.  It was pool time.  Unfortunately, it was right around the high traffic time of day.  We took a quick dunk, dried off for a bit and headed to the bar for lunch.  After lunch we tried to hang by the pool for our last couple of hours but it was pretty hectic.  Besides all the people, there is a lot of construction going on in this place.  They have to get all the repairs done before the rains come.  The construction noise got to be a bit too much so we headed to the room.

Resting now in the comfort of our own lodgings enjoying the animals our front and the quiet.  We plan to check out the sunset bar tonight.  We just discovered this place in the morning when I was looking for the spa.  I wanted to check it out for later.  While walking to the spa we saw signs for sunset bar - something else no one told us about.  Found the spa, which is in a renovated old boat (I think I am going to pass on that) and kept walking till we found the bar.  It is situated in the perfect place for sunset.  I hope it is open later.

Yes, it was definitely open.  I was so looking forward to a fancy Botswana cocktail, but alas, no fancy cocktails here.  Well then a vodka and soda will do just fine.  We sat and watched the sun go down along with the sun tours out on the water.  Not as dramatic as Tsitsikama, but beautiful nonetheless. 

Dinner was very crowded tonight, mostly with tour groups.  We are ready to leave tomorrow. Sweet dreams.

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM

Next time... Back to Jo'Berg

Gone Fishin'

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM

Happy St. Pats to all you Irish out there.  And a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Geoff's brother, Andrew.

I admit yesterday I was a bit cranky.  It is getting down to the last couple of days and I'm getting a little weary.  It has been quite a journey.  Speaking of journey - fun facts:  moving giraffes are called a journey, standing giraffes, a dazzle of zebras, a gang of buffalo, a bask of crocodiles, a parade of elephants, a pod hippos, a leap of leopards, pride of lions, cackle of hyenas -- that's all I can remember at the moment.

Lying in bed watching the baby baboons playing in the grass with the warthogs. Cool. Getting ready to see what the fishing is all about.  No flies, just lures. We met up with our fishing guide, Nevin, shortly after breakfast.  He is a local from Namibia with a small fishing skiff.  Geoff and I each took one of the high seats.  Nevin told us that this is the worst time of year to fish for tigers.  Great.  So we were reduced to trolling.  He gave us each a rod with two different color lures and putted along to the Namibia side of the Chobe River.  I got a hit pretty early on but lost the darn right as it got close to the boat.  Really wouldn't have mattered much.  I think the lure was bigger than the fish - no much of a trophy photo.  The next hit came not too far after.  Again, I got him up to the boat and then he jumped off.  This one was bigger but still nothing to write home about.  The third time's a charm.  The fish struck, I hooked him good, and landed him in the boat.  Not a trophy but a good picture none the less.  This is catch and release - so back in the water he went.

Up and down the river we went passing crocodiles and hippos.  It was very beautiful and peaceful. I felt bad for Geoff.  I figured I had the good lure, so we switched rods. Yup, sure enough he hooked one. But the only thing that came up was an eyeball!!  Somewhere out there there is a fish with one eye who is not too pleased.  Geoff's next hit was a real beautiful looking tiger fish.  We think on the skinny side of 3 pounds.  That was pretty exciting and the highlight of the fishing excursion. We were back at the dock by 10.

Today was a lot better at the lodge.  This morning at breakfast we were the only people there at 7am and not many more were there when we returned at 10.  Don't know where they all went and we really didn't care.  We picked a couple of chaises and jumped in the pool to cool off from trolling in the sun. We had a good deal of peace just to sit and read until about noon.  Then the day boats started coming.  They all are here for the buffet lunch as some sort of day trip.  Good time to go to the bar and have a quiet lunch there. We had a nice lunch from the ala carte menu and nobody bothered us.  Another dunk in the pool - check out the jacuzzi, and it was time to get ready for our next activity - game drive.

The game drive in the jeep is pretty much the same as the game drive in the boat except from a different perspective. We had a full jeep of 10 people plus the guide, Mbara.  I know there was an Aussie family but not sure where the others were from. We drove down along the river, seeing most of the same creatures. We did see lots more crocodiles today and the elephants were having a bit of fun with us.  Jumping out from the bushes and trumpeting.  The same animals but always beautiful.  Our search for the lion and leopard didn't pan out.

We were making our way back, when Mbara got the jeep stuck in the sand.  The sand was very high and he slowed down to talk about the birds. The next thing - we stuck!  He got out - which we are told is a complete no no - and let some of the air out of the tires.  Still no luck.  Only one thing for it - everybody out and push. Well this was a first. It wasn't going so great and then someone noticed that the jeep wasn't in four wheel drive.  What the????  These jeeps are old with manual 4 wheel drive. Apparently, it was originally in gear when we got to the park and when Mbara switched it, he really took it our of gear instead of putting in 4 wheel drive.  Phew!  We all jumped back in accompanied with a couple of pounds of sand and we were on our way. 

We passed a pile up of jeeps waiting for a single lioness to make an appearance. It was getting late for us, so we gave up and drove back stopping for sunset on the way.  As it was, we got back a half hour later.  Mbara really wanted to find that lion.  I also think he felt bad about getting stuck.  I bet that doesn't happen twice.

Back at the lodge, showered and went straight to the buffet.  Still lots of meat - some of it we just saw in the park.  I really think that is not good policy but then again I don't make the policy.  We were able to fill up on all kinds of salads - some better than others.  The atmosphere is nicer here than across the street - you get to look at the river.  It is also a bit cooler.

We have one more game drive in the morning and then a private boat tour (which probably goes to the same place) just before lunch.  Then the rest of the day we are free to veg and stare at the day trippers.

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM

Next time ... The Last Drive

Going to Botswana

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM
WARNING:  There are graphic pictures of elephants

Clive came to pick us up to take us to the Zambia border where we will be handed over to anotherdriver in Botswana.  On the way, he kindly stopped at the Jewish burial ground.  Here there  many of the Jews who helped Zambia for the fight for freedom.  It is a small little plot in the  middle of nowhere.  If you didn't know it was there, you wouldn't know it was there. Right now there are only about 140 Jews left in Zambia. We just stopped for a while to pay our respects and off we went.

The border was totally bonkers. They are in the middle of building a bridge to get across but right now every takes some sort of ferry - that includes these huge trucks.  The lines go on forever on both sides.  Got our passport stamped on the Zambia side and Clive took us to our private ferry.  Put on the luggage, said goodbye to Clive (although we might see him on the way home), and the nice man took us across.  When we were in the middle of the Zambezi River, we were actually bordering four countries:  Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.  When we got to the other side, the guy in the boat said that he did not have a Susan on his list.  He showed us the list and he was right.  We looked at each other.  What do we do now?  Fortunately, our driver, Kennedy - thought that was pretty funny - showed up and we got off the boat.  I was a bit worried there for a while. Went through Botswana customs and had to clean the bottom of our shoes before entering the country. Protection again contamination.

Arrived at the Chobe Safari Lodge around noon.  There are lots of activities here and it feels somewhat like camp.  The first thing we  had to do was sign up for some of our activities.  We chose the 3pm boat cruise and fishing in the morning.  Then we were shown to our room.  The room is lovely and has a great view of the Chobe River.  The lodge, however, leaves much to be desired.  There is a small pool - no towels that we could find.  The worst of it is the day visitors. Boat loads of people come in for lunch and swarm the pool and restaurant area.  I did not know about this before booking and I made it clear to the agent we were happy with the situation. 

At 3pm we were down at the dock and boarded our boat for the river cruise.  This is more of a water safari.  We was a whole herd of elephants doing a whole bunch of national geographic things. In the Galapagos we called them two story penguins.  I've never seen two story elephants. It was quite something.  Even the guides were stunned.  This doesn't happen out in the open usually. Besides the elephants we saw hippos, birds, a couple of baby crocodiles among other things.  It was very relaxing and the scenery is gorgeous.  No bumpy African massage from those jeeps.  The cruise lasted till around 6pm and it was back at the dock.

Getting ready for dinner, we discovered our neighbors out on the lawn.  Lots of warthogs and baboons have a grand ole time eating and playing and watching the sunset. As for dining, this lodge only has buffet style eating - no fish and lots of meat. There is an a la carte menu at the bar which we might try tomorrow.  Tonight we went to the sister restaurant which is across the street up the hill, they serve a la cart. The food was not very good.  Not sure what we will do tomorrow but we will figure it out. Till tomorrow.

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM
WARNING:  There are graphic pictures of elephants

Next time... Fishing the Chobe River

Game Drive/Rhino Walk

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM

Clive met us this morning with a jeep and Patrick, our guide.  With all the different combinations of safaris and rhino walks, we chose a drive safari with a short walk to see the rhinos at the end.  It turned into a pretty successful day.

The Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is the second smallest park in Zambia  You could say that this was Safari Lite.  No cats so no need to go searching for them.  Patrick is very knowledgeable in all the flora and fauna as well as birds.  We saw a few we hadn't seen before and learned about some of the trees of Zambia. The Mopane and Baobab trees are both used for medicinal purposes. The Baobab tree is sometimes called Livingstone's tree. Elephants also like to eat the bark for healing.  The Combretum imbebe tree has a four or six sided fruit that when dried is used as a substitute for coffee or tea - no caffeine but a similar smell.

We stopped along the Zambezi River and spotted a few hippos across the way.  Had a drink and

Patrick contacted the rhino folks to find out where the rhinos were hanging.  A mother daughter duo joined us on our little walk.  Met up with two park rangers who led us, single file, to see the rhinos.  These big guys were very happily lazing under a tree. Took our pictures and walked back.  Geoff and I were both happy we didn't choose the rhino walk.  It was blistering hot.

On the drive out of the park we saw a water buck and a sleeping wart hog, and a female and male bush buck - which we hadn't seen before.  In the park, we passed a small cemetery where they buried malaria victims.  It is said that this was the first place that Livingstone came when he arrived in Zambia. The people took him to the cemetery to show him what malaria was doing to their Then he went on to what is now Livingstone Island. So all in all, we had a pretty good morning and it was interesting talking to both Clive and Patrick.

Before going back to the hotel, Patrick drove us over to the Jewish Museum, which is also housed with the Railway Museum.  A very nice man led us through the museum and told us a bit about the history of Jews in Zambia.  Who knew?

European Jews first came to Zambia at the end of the 19th century while it was still Northern Rhodesia, many settling in its then capital Livingstone. Early arrivals were pioneers looking for better economic opportunities; later they came as refugees fleeing Nazi persecution, mainly from Germany, Lithuania and Latvia.

Zambia was one of the few countries that welcomed them. However, when the country gained independence in 1964 there was an exodus of many who had settled there, including from the Jewish community.

The city’s Jewish Museum, a national monument, tells the story of the Jewish people who settled in and around Livingstone. Although the community was relatively small, it included significant figures in the country’s economical and political life.

The bulk of the funding for the project comes from a bequest by the late David Susman, a distinguished businessman and philanthropist whose father, Elie, and uncles were leading figures in the pioneering of the Zambian economy in the early decades of the last century.

Back at the pool.  At four we took one more walk down to the falls.  Discovered some paths we hadn't walked before and took some parting shots before leaving in the morning. I means how could I not!  We had one inquiry about the camera I use.  It is a small point and shoot Canon SX740  - nothing to special but it does have a 40x zoom.

Brillan took us to the Golden Leaf for Indian food. It was absolutely
delicious.  Great for our last night in Zambia.  When we returned the zebras were taking in the evening entertainment.

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM

Next time... Driving to Botswana

Falls, Falls, Falls

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM

Very busy day.  Started off with breakfast and then Brillan, our driver, at 9am to be taken over to Zimbabwe to see the Falls from the other side.  A lot of bureaucracy leaving one country and entering another.  When we got into Zimbabwe, we were passed over to Edmore, our guide for the morning.

Edmore was very personable and led through the trail with lots of stories and facts.

David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European to view Victoria Falls on 16 November 1855, from what is now known as Livingstone Island, one of two land masses in the middle of the river, immediately upstream from the falls near the Zambian shore. Livingstone named his discovery in honour of Queen Victoria of Britain, but the indigenous Lozi language name, Mosi-oa-Tunya—"The Smoke That Thunders"—continues in common usage as well. The World Heritage List officially recognizes both names. Livingstone also cites an older name, Seongo or Chongwe, which means "The Place of the Rainbow" as a result of the constant spray.

The walk took us through the various look-out spots.  The Devil's Cataract is a very impressive sight. Here the water falls all year.  The main falls are a sheet of water flowing over the basalt rock.  There are two falls that are large enough to divide the curtain of water even at full flood - Cataract Island and Livingstone Island, where Livingstone first saw the falls. After he named the falls after the queen, she in turn named the island after Livingstone. We were
able to spot the natural pool where they take tourists to swim at the edge of the falls.  We looked into doing this Danger Zone - aptly named.  One bad slip and adios!  This overlooks the Boiling Pot which is reached from the Zambia side.

We seemed to be fairly lucky today with the sprays.  We didn't get nearly as wet as we did yesterday - and we were armed with ponchos, umbrellas, booties and who knows what else. Edmore also said that we were pretty lucky to see those rainbows yesterday.  It doesn't always happen.  Of course, the odds are better at Rainbow Falls than anywhere else but it still is not a regular thing. Plus the fact that not only was it not dry but sometimes it can be too much water and all you see is mist.  I'm really glad we decided to go when we did.

Back in the car and back through customs. Brillan was on the other side waiting for us.  She let us off before the Victoria Falls bridge so that we could walk across.  More photos.  You really can't stop shooting.  The train came while we were on the bridge to add another little thrill.  Not sure why - but seeing trains pass is always exciting.  We got back in the car drove back to the resort. 

As we entered the resort, a pair of giraffes were on the road to  greet us.  Geoff and I got out of the car and walked along with them.  So cool. It was getting hot, so we fixed a picnic lunch from last night's leftovers and headed for the pool.  Had about two hours rest before it was time for the next activity. The helicopter.

Brillan picked us up at 2:45 to take us to the chopper folks.  What a to-do with the "boarding passes".  We were the only ones going on the flight which only held three passengers.  We gave our passes to at least four people until the pilot finally got them.  Why couldn't we just hand it to him?  Oh well, we had a private flight which lasted exactly 22 minutes.  WOW!! We did three trips around the falls.  But even better than that was when he aimed for the gorge.  We were flying right down into it the white water, banking around the turns -- very exhilarating. The pilot explained the history of the gorges and the falls.

The recent geological history of Victoria Falls can be seen in the form of the gorge below the falls. The basalt plateau over which the Zambezi River flows has many large cracks filled with weaker sandstone. The largest cracks run roughly east to west, with smaller north-south cracks connecting them. The falls have been receding up stream over the last 100 000 years, eroding the sandstone-filled cracks to form the zig-zag chasms which are called the Batoka gorges. The present river’s course in the vicinity of the falls is north to south, and therefore opens up the large east-west crack across its full width, then cuts back through a short north-south crack to the next east-west one.

Past sites of the falls are the Second to Fifth and the Songwe Gorge representing where they fell into one long straight chasm as they do now. Their sizes indicate that the waterfall will one day be wider than the present day waterfall.

The waterfall has already started cutting back the next one, at the one side of the Devil’s Cataract. This a large east-north-east line of weakness across the river, and that is where the next full width falls will form.

Another shutter happy moment on this trip of awesome wonders.   I have tried my best to edit the photos down but it is so incredibly hard.  They are all so remarkably beautiful. So put on your ponchos and enjoy the show.

Brillan was on the ground to meet us and take us back to the hotel.  Clive will be picking us up for dinner tonight.  Going to try some local African establishment.  If the menu doesn't suit, Ocean Basket is across the street!

Clive showed up in bus towing a trailer.  Apparently, he was on his way back from some adventure and picked us up on the way. He dropped us at Cafe Zambezi.  There were enough vegetarian options that we decided to stay.  The front of the place looks like a real dive but when you further back, it is has a lot of atmosphere.  There was a local group playing music that added to the atmosphere.  Not only were the portions huge but they were extremely cheap.  Far too much food and again tonight we walked through reception with take away bags.  Lunch tomorrow.  Along the drive to the restaurant, I spotted a Jewish Museum.  Clive promises to stop there tomorrow after our morning activity.  He dropped us off and will pick us up tomorrow morning.  Nighty, night

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM

Next time.... Game Drive/Rhino Walk

Zambia Victoria Falls

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM

From the bush to the falls - phew what a day.  We managed to get out of camp at around 6am. Fortunately, there were no elephant roadblocks - not sure what we would have done.  The ride to the airport was uneventful.  I was even able to turn on my data and download the blog for the last two days.  Everything was going very smoothly until we were on our way to the wrong airport.  Who knew that Nelspruit had two airports.  We were almost to Nelspruit Airport when I realized we had to be a the international airport - we were leaving the country.  We had passed the sign for the Kruger Airport a while ago.  Geoff turned the car around and we raced to get the car returned and check-in on time.  No problems with the car return.  Again, we didn't even refill the gas and the gauge said full. Great.  Not to mention the guy was thrilled to have an extra hubcap!

Flight from Nelspruit to Livingstone, Zambia was also uneventful until the pilot missed the runway  the first time.  He started landing and then all of a sudden we were climbing again.  He circled back and eventually touched to tires to the tarmac.  I said a quiet oy vey - or maybe I wasn't so quiet. We did get our first look at Victoria Falls from the plane - magnificent. Got to the terminal, got our univisas to visit Zimbabwe and Bostwana, found our driver and we were on our way to the hotel.  We have a woman driver, Brillan, who I really like and have no trouble understanding - which is important.  hate to keep saying "what?".  We set our plans for the next couple of day.  Yes, more activities - one of the being another game drive -- which we are going to try and change to something else if we can.

Got to our room, I quickly changed into a suit and I was in the pool in no time.  I met a very nice couple from Wellington, NZ in the pool.  We were chatting for a while and then Geoff joined in.  We will probably see them at breakfast.  They leave for Botswana tomorrow.  We hung out for a while and tried to enjoy the peace and quiet until the children came.  So much for that.  Victoria Falls is practically in the backyard of this hotel.  There is a path that goes to the gate to get in for free if you are at the hotel.  The gate closes at six.  The weather was perfect, the time was now, let's go!

Back to the room to collect what stuff we might need.  We wore our suits so we didn't care about getting wet.  I did mange to get these cheap plastic booties to keep our shoes dry.  Stuck those in the back along with the little umbrella to try to keep the camera dry. 

I cannot put into words the beauty and power of what we saw.  Shutter happy - I was clicking away like crazy.  And although some of the shots are good - nothing compares to what it feels like standing there soaking wet with the sun shining on you and staring into the biggest force of water on earth - not to mention the rainbows!  We trekked around some more and eventually ran out of steam. It was a very long day.  Walked back to our hotel.  Both the
Avani and Royal Livingstone Hotel are in a wildlife preserve so the animals have free reign here.  Zebras, impalas, monkeys, and all kinds of things walk roam the grounds.  Look but don't feed or touch.

Time for dinner.  The buffet dinner was included with our stay tonight.  That's great except for the fact there was no buffet tonight.  At reception they told us to go to the restaurant and just order. The buffet would have been about $35pp. That sound like quite a lot to us so we said fine.  Except the restaurant here has a very limited fish menu.  "Oh then you should go next door to our sister hotel, Royal Livingstone.  OK. Geoff had to change into long pants and a collared shirt.  I was just fine. Got on the shuttle that takes you across.  It is not as close as I was led to believe.

This hotel is twice the size of ours.  The restaurant was all outdoors under the stars with a quartet playing.  How great is that!  We had a beautiful meal and spent every penny of our $35pp budget..  We even got to take back what we couldn't finish so we now we have lunch tomorrow.  Much better than any buffet. For the next two nights here the agency has booked us into two different restaurants in town.  We had a long talk with our waiter about where to go.  Think we are going to change one of our reservations on his
recommendation of a local place. We talked spoke to the restaurant manager while we were waiting for the bill. She said that this was an excellent time to see the falls.  There are times when there is no water that all you see are rocks.  It is hard to imagine after what we saw this afternoon.

Took the shuttle back and here we are.  Looking forward to a good night's sleep and not having to get up at 5am.

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM

Next time...  Victoria Falls from Zimbabwe

Pungwe Bush Camp (2 Days)

CLICK HERE: PUNGWE BUSH CAMP PHOTO ALBUM
CLICK HERE: THE BIG FIVE PHOTO ALBUM

Monday, March 11, 2019

Woke up bright and early in the hopes that the sun was out and we could do a quick run out to God's Window before going off into the bush.  No luck.  Not only were the skies gray but it started pouring as we were eating.  Oh well, that puts an end to the "maybe" of it all.  Packed up and went up to reception to sign out.

The rain was coming down pretty hard at times on the drive across to Kruger.  Not much along the

way.  Some small towns.  Needed an ATM so we pulled off and went to the Acornhoek Mall. These malls are amazing to me.  They are huge and quite modern.  Got our cash, went to the loo, and we were off.  Got to the Manyeleti Game Reserve gate late morning. Paid our conservation fee and was given a map of how to get to Pungwe - right, left, right, left, left etc.  The bumpy road took us about 45 minutes to navigate.  We had one sighting of kudo at a watering hall and there was a turtle on the road.  Lots elephant dung - we were on the lookout - but didn't see anything lumbering out of the bushes.

Arrived at camp and Neville was there to meet us.  I must say that this guy is not warm and fuzzy for being in the tourist industry.  Emma, however, the other person wve met here, is lovely.  We are settled in our tent.  This is basically camping. Although we do have indoor plumbing and a real shower -- not a man outside filling a water bucket while you pull the cord.  There never was time to use that jacuzzi at the silk farm.  Maybe here we can use the clawfooted tub here. It looks pretty welcoming.  There is also a fan in the tent that is solar powered - and that outlet is not be used by anything but the fan.  There is a charging station at the bar at certain times of the day but that's it for power. Speaking of power, Geoff is now on a rant about the South African power adapters. They are absolutely huge and ridiculous to travel with.  They only ones worse, he says, are the British.  Some of the wall outlets here have various adapters in them already - mainly European - none of them are US.  So we have to be prepared for all kinds of situations.  No idea what we will encounter in Zambia or Botswana - but we're much covered.

They also have a very strange dining schedule.  There is the usual 5:30 coffee and muffins then a brunch at 10 after returning from the game drive.  But apparently, there is no official lunch. High tea is at 3:30 and then dinner at 8pm.  So if you don't fill up at brunch, you're kinda out of luck.  The last time we were driving to the safari camp in Shamwari, we made a point of having lunch before we arrived.  Only to find out that we could order lunch when we got there. Today, we specifically didn't have anything to eat after our 7:30 breakfast. So when Mr. Congeniality said the next meal was at 3:30, it didn't sit so well with me. "But what about lunch?"  "We have brunch at 10." "Yes, but we didn't."  Finally, nice Emma said "Are you hungry?"  DUH!!  Well there is rusks and coffee if you want. Rusks are the South African answer to the biscotti.  Ok fine.  Tomorrow we will plan better.

Resting out on our "porch" now   A wasp-type just dragged some sort of caterpillar-type across us and is now digging a hole to bury the poor thing.  It's all very nature channel stuff.  We have taken our anti-malaria pills and have doused ourselves in OFF - we are now ready for safari!  At 3:30 we have high tea and then off for a 4pm game drive. Tonight I think there will be six of us and tomorrow afternoon eight. We haven't run into any other guests as yet.   later

Ok - we are totally humiliated now.  Early this afternoon there was a very cute monkey hanging around our tent.  We totally forgot about the plastic bag containing a couple of rotten bananas that we put outside the tent so we wouldn't attract anything in the tent.  Well before we got a chance to get it down to the dining area, the darling little monkey grabbed the bag and was off!  On the walk down to tea, we tried searching the area for the bag - no luck.  Our fellow campers showed up and said "Is this bag yours? We saw a very happy monkey".  Very embarrassing.

Anyway, we met both couples all young and German.  We were off at 4 pm sharp.  The Pungwe game drive is much different from Shamwari - open jeep, no roof, no sides, no proscceo, and no rifle -- what they did have was on high power light.  That was great during the ride back and we could look in the trees and around the bushes in the dark.  Didn't see much, a lion and a hyena ran across the road, but it was exciting.  Saw the usual stuff on the drive - still in search of the elusive leopard and cheetah.  Maybe tomorrow.

Dinner was fine and we had a great conversation with the young folks about working and politics.  The weather held today and hopefully, it will be good for tomorrow as well. We all have to be escorted to our tents at night - you never know what's lurking in the dark. Early call in the morning.

The Big Five!

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Sleeping in a tent in under African skies is always exciting.  Lots of animal sounds - some big some not so big.  We saw stars as we were escorted to our tent last night.  We had thought it would be mean clear skies.  I guess not.  It poured during the night and when we woke up the skies were gray.  There was coffee and cereal waiting at 6am.  Then the rain came again.  Ponchos were handed out and we were on our way.  In an open jeep, we all got drenched even with our rain jackets and ponchos.

I was just finishing complaining "Why are we doing this!?", when we spotted the leopard.  WOW!! this beast is beautiful and so close.  That completes our BIG 5 for this trip:  Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Lion, and Leopard.  We stalked the leopard for a bit and left him in peace.  OK, so that was the reason we were out here in the pouring rain.  Fortunately the rain had stopped while we watched him in the bush.  It, however, start right up again as soon as the jeep started moving.

Back on the bumpy road with rain hitting our faces, what do we see next?  A cheetah!!  What are the odds?  This guy/gal was protecting a fresh kill so not going anywhere.  We watched as the kill was dragged into the bush and the cheetah proceeded to have breakfast.  Very hard to get a photo in all the grass.  Quite a magnificent sight.

Had a coffee break and we took off for the camp.  Along the way we passed the usual -- giraffes, elephants, gnus, and a tortoise shell turtle to name a few.  Got back at the lodge and had a hearty breakfast.  Said goodbye to one of the couples.  There will be more coming in this afternoon.  Time for a warm shower. Rested for most of the afternoon waiting for everything to dry out so we can pack.  Everything is still rather damp.  We talked with Michele, the owner, for a bit before retiring for the afternoon.  He is quite the entrepreneur an quite full of himself, but enjoyable to talk to.  High tea came before we knew it and we set out to dining area.  Three new guests have arrived. A couple for north of England and woman from Chicago.  Introductions were made, tea was had, and off we went.

Well guess what?  The rain came, again.  Bundled up in ponchos we came upon two male lions have a lie down.  We sat there for an extremely long time.  Long enough for the rain to let us for a while.  When we finally moved down the road, we ran into a herd of elephants in the middle of the road. All the females were trying to protect the young one who was very anxious to see what we were

all about.  She did manage to escape for a bit, but not for long.  At one point we were surrounded by elephants very near the truck.  The large females started charging us and trumpeting.  Well, that woke up anyone who was sleeping.  Our guide thought it was a good idea to rev the engine and move forward.  This action went on for a while.  All us tourists were pretty in awe of what was going on.  Eventually, Isaac drove the jeep right through the herd and we heard all about it from them. Phew!  We stopped for cocktails but Neville forgot our peanuts. Fortunately, the nice Englishwoman, Margaret (?), had some macadamia nuts that she shared.

On the drive back to the lodge, an owl swooped down and grabbed a bird right in front of the jeep.  In fact we drove right through all the loose feathers.  Neville was able to spot the owl with the flashlight. Apparently, he had put a whole through the bird which was right beside him.  The owl took off when he saw us but is sure to come back for his prey. This is a sight we will remember for a long time to come.

Dinner was good with lots of conversation.  I had a good talk with Isaac, our guide tonight.  He lives in the village and told me about his life and children.  He said living in the bush he was not really affected by apartheid.  We talked of the changes that have occurred for the young black people of today.  It was interesting to hear another side to the story.  For instance, he told us that a child has only one chance at free tuition at a university.  If you do not pass, they will throw you out.  If you want to return, then you or your parents will have to pay the tuition -- the government will not.  This is not what we were led to believe.

It was time to say goodnight.  We will see everyone for coffee early in the morning.  We have to leave here around 6 am to get to the airport.

CLICK HERE: PUNGWE BUSH CAMP PHOTO ALBUM
CLICK HERE: THE BIG FIVE PHOTO ALBUM

Next time.... Victoria Falls, here we come!